Washington Park: Vietnam Veteran's of Oregon Memorial

There are a few different entry points for the veterans' memorial, but it is probably best to start at the walkway to the Garden of Solace.

There are signs giving an idea of the layout, and it looks weird, but once you are in there it makes sense.

There are signs giving an idea of the layout, and it looks weird, but once you are in there it makes sense.

The garden is a peaceful place, and appears to be popular with veterans, not only of Vietnam. There is a quiet that lends itself to remembrance and reflection.

Then you can start walking the spiral out. The path has an easy slope, so should be easily manageable for most.

Then the markers start to appear at intervals. They give the time period covered, the lives of Oregonians lost during it, and also things that happened locally, with stories that were covered in Oregon newspapers. Sometimes they refer to the war, but not always, especially earlier.

The biggest thing you notice is as time goes on how the names increase, sometimes for much shorter time periods, but with so many more names.

Then, right before the end, there is a marker for those Missing In Action. Some names have been marked as recovered, but not all.

Then, at the top, you have a new perspective. You can understand the design. Perhaps you will not understand the war, but you should have an idea of the cost, and the specific cost to our state.

Then, there are many paths you can take.

https://www.portland.gov/parks/vietnam-veterans-oregon-memorial

Washington Park: 150 years

Established in 1871, Washington Park is 150 years old. 

To commemorate, the park has put up seven markers.
https://www.washingtonpark150.org/

They have also added art cutouts by Mike Bennett, whom you may remember from Winterland PDX.

https://www.atozoopdx.com/about

The cutouts are not fixed, but can be put away at night and rearranged in the morning, but they do represent the same park features as the markers. So there is a MAX car for the MAX station, trees for the World Forestry Center and Hoyt Arboretum, and a mountain goat for the zoo.

Up by the Rose Garden and Japanese Garden, another pair can be found.

Markers come in English and Spanish, and have QR codes that will tell you more about the attraction. This information is also available at the park web site.

Most of the markers can be easily spotted from the nearby parking lots, and easily accessed.

I never found the one for Hoyt Arboretum, but while researching, I discovered GPS icons on the web site, so that provides another resource for searchers. Hoyt Arboretum is technically a separate section of land, not inside the park, so it makes sense that they are the outlier.

I was surprised to see a marker for the Portland Children's Museum (represented in plywood by the Cow Parade statue that used to stand out front), now permanently closed. Then, reading it, where even the headline says "Remembering", it made sense. The museum was in the park for 20 years, but a part of Portland for 75 years. Before that, the physical location housed OMSI. That museum is a part of history and change.

Therefore, though I was surprised at how far the Zoo's marker was from the main entrance, maybe it makes sense that it is near the new educational center, because growth and evolution continues into the future.

https://explorewashingtonpark.org/

Washington Park: International Rose Test Garden

Portland's history as the City of Roses goes back at least as far as Georgina Pittock's start of a rose society in 1889. It is not just that she had the idea, but that so many people embraced it. (The name apparently came in 1905 with the Lewis and Clark Centennial celebration where there were roses everywhere.)

That perhaps makes it less surprising that during WWI, Oregon Journal Sunday editor and rose hobbyist Jesse Currey proposed a "test garden" to preserve European (international?) hybrid roses. And thus the rose garden was born.

It is a scenic area anyway, with a nice lawn and amphitheater, and beautiful walkways.

One of the improvements that came with the 100th anniversary was increased attention to accessibility. This includes not just easier paths in some places, but also helpful information about grades.

Of course there are other flowers, and you can find beauty at any time of year.

You will still see a definite difference between when the roses are not in bloom...

... and when they are.

https://www.portland.gov/parks/washington-park-international-rose-test-garden

Jim's Ice Cream

Jim's Ice Cream is an owner-operated shop on SE 10th Avenue in Hillsboro. Saying it is owner-operated is completely inadequate.

Once a Baskin-Robbins run by local restaurateur Jim Schulz, he eventually made the ice cream store his own, running it for decades. When he was ready to retire, employee Adrian Wakefield purchased the store, but preserved the name.

In that way, Jim's has a legacy and lore similar to Jan's Paperbacks. It has a history with the community. Those community ties are strengthened by working with local dairies to make the ice cream.

Ice cream is generally pretty good anyway, but a great deal of care goes into the flavor and ingredient selection.

And it is not only ice cream. They have had great success with Hot Chocolate Bombs over the winter, that does not seem to have slowed down into summer. You can order custom ice cream cakes, and you can get your regular ice cream in shakes, malts, floats, smoothies, sundaes, splits or fancy waffle cones.

They have plenty of options. It's just a matter of making the time.

https://jimsicecream.com

https://www.facebook.com/jimsicecreamshop/

http://hillsboroherald.com/local-girl-takes-over-for-local-guy-to-keep-hillsboros-ice-cream-legacy-alive/

Salem, Oregon: Willamette Heritage Center

Other historical sites have hinted at the interesting depths of Oregon's sheep industry. The Willamette Heritage Center in Salem, Oregon focuses on the processing of the wool.

This includes the sale of yarns and knitting supplies, as well as space and organization for casual groups that are into spinning, weaving, and tatting.

The site is built around the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, founded in 1889 and that operated until the closure in 1962.

Since that time, other historical buildings and artifacts have been brought to the site.

While maintaining social distancing is easy in the large factory, it can be much harder in the other structures. They have found an ingenious solution.

You are given a key that allows access to the buildings, and a sign that lets other groups know to wait their turn. We thought that system worked well.

It is impressive on its own how long the mill was able to function, but then because the site was quickly obtained by a group interested in its preservation, you have a very good idea of what the factory was like.

Some of the machinery not only can still work, but is kept running.

You also have a good sense of the architecture for that time period, which appears to have been sturdy.

The site is mostly wheelchair accessible, though some of the additional buildings do not have access to the upper floors.

The grounds were enjoyable and well-paved. It was a warm day, but there are some shady spots.

The Willamette Heritage Center seems to do a good job of preserving the past but being grounded in the present.

https://www.willametteheritage.org/